2017: The big question mark

What lies in store for shippers in the coming year? The crystal ball is unusually cloudy right now, but here are my best guesses. About this time each year, I try to imagine what supply chain developments we might see during the coming year. But after the contentious presidential campaign and its surprise outcome, it’s difficult to predict what might happen in 2017. My hope is that we will continue to see exciting developments in areas like drone use, last-mile deliveries, increased customer intimacy, growing sophistication in the logistics service provider (LSP) sector, driverless vehicles, supply chain transparency, and robotics. I think it’s more likely, however, that this year will bring a number of changes in the more basic operational areas. What these changes might be is difficult to predict, though. The slate of (yet-to-be-confirmed) cabinet members and advisers selected by the president-elect reveals little except the fact that it is an eclectic group. It contains politicians, both state and national; business leaders; military leaders; a female wrestling promoter; and a former secretary of labor who happens to be married to the Senate majority leader. What’s particularly interesting is that some of them have a dog in the hunt they will be managing. For example, the new choice for secretary of labor is a fast-food CEO who’s violently opposed to the idea of a $15 minimum wage. Where this band of merry men and women will take us is anyone’s guess. One thing I think we can finally count on is some movement on shoring up the country’s crumbling infrastructure. President-elect Donald Trump has released a plan that includes $1 trillion in investment, supported by as much as $140 billion in tax credits. While this would fall short of covering the total cost, at least it is a start, […]